In the example code, the $ function is used multiple times. Then the template.find() method is used, and it's output is wrapped in the $ function. I thought that the meteor way of doing this was to use the template.$ function instead, which seems clearer and may perform slightly better. Here is my slightly edited code:

Thanks - I am not sure about the performance aspect, but certainly when we originally wrote the code

Template.instance

wasn't around.

We will revisit all source code shortly and make sure to take advantage of the latest features of Meteor. In the meantime we are more than thankful for these kinds of reports. I think it indeed helps to make the code more approachable and show the Meteor way.